There has been much development in the direct insurance industry the past few years. Many new insurers have registered as financial service providers and all the major “traditional” insurers have entered the market either directly or through a shareholding in specialist direct insurers.

On Phototalk.co.za a visitor has commented as follows on information about the traditional insurer -broker business model as compared to direct insurance:

“Direct insurance service providers have spoiled us with their business model and for me it is the preferred channel when it comes to a basic item such as camera equipment.”

The growth in the direct insurance markets depend mainly on access to the internet – and the growing comfort and trust in purchasing insurance online.

Direct insurers will be smiling at the newly releases estimates for internet access as revealed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). I would like to share the info found on I-Net Bridge.

The total number of internet users in SA is expected to increase to 22.8 million in 2015, from six million in 2010, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report released on Thursday.

"As the Entertainment and Media (E&M) industry emerges from the recession, one of the key characteristics of its recovery is the rapid consumer migration to digital formats, triggered in large part by the device revolution," said Vicky Myburgh, PricewaterhouseCoopers SA E&M sector leader.

The second edition of PwC's South African entertainment and media outlook revealed that the total E&M spending in SA for 2010 rose by 21.1% to R98 billion, helped by the FIFA World Cup. This contrasted with the modest 3.7% growth seen in 2009 and the 4.6% growth experienced globally in 2010.

According to Myburgh, in the medium term, the demand for digital experiences will become the norm.

"In this dynamic environment, we are seeing an upsurge in collaborative partnering, which is transforming the E&M industry into a digital collaborative ecosystem," she said.

Off the 2010 base which includes FIFA World Cup spend, PwC expects total spend in the E&M market to decline by 0.6% in 2011, and then to grow by around 9%-10% each year to reach R140 billion in 2015. During this period, the internet will be the only segment to average double-digit annual growth, with a projected 24.8% compound annual increase to reach total spend of R37.7 billion in 2015, it said.

Myburgh cautioned that structural changes in the E&M market, principally the ongoing shift from higher priced physical distribution to lower-priced digital distribution, would limit spending in the sector.

"Online ad rates are substantially lower than those in the traditional advertising media, and end-user prices for digital content are also generally lower than prices for physical content. As a result, the shift in usage from traditional media to digital media is not revenue neutral," she said.

Importantly she noted that the sector would ultimately have to convince consumers to start paying for content.

"A situation in which content cannot be effectively monetised is unsustainable. Companies must therefore aim to become trusted providers of paid-for content experiences that consumers will value above the no-charge alternatives," she concluded.

Conclusion:

Insurers will take note of the expected growth in internet connectivity in South Africa and will continue to develop new products, enter new business areas and do battle in this highly competitive market. This may only be positive for the client and the expectations of affordable premiums!!

What are the most searched terms on Google – and more importantly – which search terms provides the greatest revenue for search engines? The answer to this comes as no surprise – Insurance!!

I have come across an interesting story with the subtitle “Where is Google making its money?”. This is the best confirmation of of how extremely competitive internet marketing has become for insurance companies. Insurers are willing to pay a very expensive premium to find business leads and the potential to conclude insurance contracts with our online community!

In this post we also provided some insights as to why these insurance keywords are so expensive. We would like to quote:

"How much does it cost for insurance companies to gain the top search results? [Paid search]

This exact question was asked and the answer provided in a Google search result. I would like to share a brief and simple version of the answer:

“There is not a specific amount that you can pay to gain the top spot or a specific way to ensure a particular spot.

It isn’t a simple auction. The auction is closest to a CPM (cost per thousand) auction. Imagine that each advert has a specific click through rate. Each advertiser pays so that the CTR times the Average Cost Per Click generates the CPM. Google ranks the adverts with the highest CPM at the top.

What you will end up paying also depends largely on the industry and what you are advertising – and how competitive that market is.

If you are in very competitive market such as “mortgages” or “car insurance” you are likely to have many, many competitors, nearly all of whom will want to be on the first page, if not in the top spot. In this scenario, you are almost certain to have a much higher CPC (Cost Per Click) in order to be competitive in the ‘auction’.”

Conclusion and Advice

The battle for insurance advertising is not expected to reduce in intensity. In the insurance industry we find new players and products daily. As more people transact via the internet, insurers will become even more focused on making their products "find -able" or "search-able".

For insurers to survive in this highly competitive industry it is not important just to play the game - They need to win!!